Chelsea Stumble Against Boro: Wasteful Blues Face Uphill Battle for Wembley

Tuesday's first leg of Chelsea's League Cup semi-final against second-tier Middlesbrough ended in an unexpected 1-0 loss for the Blues, with Mauricio Pochettino's wasteful team having a lot of work to do in response to a goal by Hayden Hackney.

In the 37th minute, Isaiah Jones' deft finish set up the 21-year-old Hackney to startle the visitors at Riverside Stadium. The hosts then played excellent defense to take a narrow lead at Stamford Bridge.

Though Chelsea dominated possession, they squandered numerous opportunities, with Cole Palmer being the main offender as he missed the mark twice in the first half with the goal gaping. Ultimately, Chelsea was only at fault.

The 2004 title winners, Boro, will go to London with the belief that they can make it to Wembley despite missing opportunities to extend their lead on the counterattack.

During the final whistle, some of Chelsea's own supporters jeered the players. On January 23, the team will have the opportunity to make amends in the second leg.

On Wednesday, Liverpool will play Fulham in the first leg of the other semifinal match.

Chelsea's unimpressive debut campaign under manager Rafael Pochettino has been characterized by one stride forward and two steps back, and their defeat against Michael Carrick's injured Boro on Tuesday served as a perfect illustration of the issues they are facing.

They made eighteen attempts at goal, most of which came in the first half, but they were exposed frequently in defense and lacked quality in front of goal.

"We made some mistakes in the first half and gave them chances to score," Spurs manager Fernando Maverick said to Sky Sports following his team's ninth loss overall.

"They played with a deep block and more aggressive after that, making it difficult for us to break them down. However, we still have ninety minutes left, so we must remain optimistic.

It was a memorable evening for former Manchester United and England midfielder Carrick, as well as the boisterous home crowd.

After leading 1-0 at the start, Emmanuel Latte Lath and Alex Bangura both hobbled off, forcing Boro to make early substitutions.

After Jonny Howson gave Palmer the ball, Palmer wasted the opportunity to put Chelsea ahead.

Shortly after, Boro took the lead thanks to a brilliant move by the dynamic Jones, who deceived Chelsea's left-back Levi Colwill with a long pass before setting up Hackney for a close-range goal that beat Djordje Petrovic.

In stoppage time in the first half, Palmer squandered a further opportunity as Boro keeper Tom Glover was unable to stop a shot by Enzo Fernandez.

Palmer was again denied before the half ended, this time by shooting too slowly and then firing too near to Glover, who had an outstanding performance.

In the second half, Chelsea dominated possession of the ball but lacked the cunning to penetrate Boro's crimson wall.

In the third round of the FA Cup, Boro, who now sit 12th in the Championship, fell to Aston Villa 1-0 on Saturday.

"It's unbelievable for us to beat a team like Chelsea, no matter what," Middlesbrough boss Carrick stated. "The boys were simply outstanding." That evening was amazing."

Although Pochettino's team has scored goals in their last six games, they will need to do better in the second leg if the Argentine manager hopes to keep his first trophy in England come the end of February.

Since the beginning of the previous season, no English Premier League team has lost more games away from home than Chelsea (21)—only Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest (32 each) have lost more than Chelsea (31) in all competitions.

At the end of play, Thiago Silva and a few other players went up against some irate Chelsea supporters. However, Pochettino countered that his players were "trying to calm our fans" and that his followers were "reacting to Middlesbrough fans."

Only two of the players who participated in an FA Cup match against Boro in January 2022 are still with the team this season, highlighting Chelsea's recent investment. Although summer acquisition Palmer has performed admirably thus far, this was a challenging evening for the 21-year-old.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.